NFL: With these strategies, the fan base is supposed to grow worldwide

When the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers open their season in São Paulo on September 5, this is the first of seven games from the National Football League (NFL) that take place outside of the United States. This is the most demanding international season of the NFL.

“I think that Roger Goodell‘s strong efforts pay off,” said Andrew Zimbalist, business professor at Smith College, about the global strategy of the NFL commissioner.

But Zimbalist also said that the international move of the league does not pay off in relation to the income. At least not yet.

“You play a long -term game,” he said. In contrast to other companies, in which a successful domestic product can be transferred more easily abroad, a professional sports team may need longer to sell internationally. Because “leagues are organized within a country,” added Zimbalist.

“Games and media reach are important catalysts”

Other US profiles, such as the Major League Baseball (MLB), also try to expand worldwide, but have encountered setbacks. Although the MLB hosted the opening game of the season in Japan, it could The financing Do not ensure a Paris series with two games that should take place this summer. The league also has its plans to play games in Mexico and Puerto Rico this season cancelled.

The NFL continues to fill seats in more and more countries, but its current momentum did not come about overnight. The teams have played games of the regular season abroad since 2005 and have also played the pre -season games since 1950. In 1991, the NFL even experimented with the World League of American Football. A league with teams from Europe and North America, which, however, only existed for two years.

As a result, the NFL recognized that games on foreign ground alone are not enough to build a sustainable international business model. Now the league relies on the fact that its global efforts can be successful where others have stalled. With a strategy that builds on business partnerships and the cultivation of local fan bases around existing teams.

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“It is not enough to have only one game in a country. It is not enough to have the transmission and it is not enough to only maintain social contacts. You need a comprehensive plan to activate and integrate the fans all year round,” says Gerrit Meier. He is the managing director and head of NFL International.

“Games and media reach are important catalysts here. However, you need the support of many other tactics, including committed local teams”.

The NFL has a targeted strategy abroad

An important driving force for the expansion of NFL abroad is its Global Markets Program, which grants international marketing rights for certain countries. The teams can apply for rights for one or more countries and concentrate on locations that are most sensible from both cultural and economic perspective.

As part of the program, the teams use targeted strategies to strengthen the fan base and brand awareness abroad. This includes local events where fans are addressed directly. These include, for example, watch parties, promoting participation in sports through youth football clinics and the promotion of organized flag football.

This is a clever approach that can increase the local fan base of the teams and at the same time activate new sponsorship opportunities. Including the cooperation with “big brands that hope to cultivate the NFL over time,” said a professor of sports business at the University of Southern California, David M. Carter. He is also the founder of the Sports Business Group, a consulting firm for sports and entertainment.

After seven other NFL clubs joined the program at the beginning of the year, are now all 32 teams the league strategically geared towards one or more countries. Several franchises that have already participated have also announced new partnerships.

So the Seattle Seahawks signed A contract with TGI Sportwhich will be the strategy, event and advertising agency of the team in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past year, the Seahawks also received international partnerships with companies such as Infront, Condor Airlines and BDA Inc.

Success measurement beyond sales

Carter said Business Insider that the previous performance of the global business strategy of the NFL must be differentiated. Indicators such as the increase in streaming subscribers, more fans in the places and a growing presence on social media are some of the possibilities with which the NFL measures the success of their international strategy. Apart from current or short -term income.

“International success can be measured objectively based on the actual sales development over a certain period of time and subjectively based on the long -term brand structure. This will ultimately lead to increases in sales, since the awareness of the NFL continues to increase as a global sports brand,” said Carter.

There are other measurable signs that the league is on the right track. The international direct sales Game Pass of the NFL operated by DAZN recorded last year an increase the paying subscribers by 23 percent and the free user by 47 percent.

“In the long term, our success is defined by building a fan base that now comprises 240 million people worldwide,” says Meier. He added that more than half of the NFL engagement on the official social media accounts now come from outside of the United States.

It is still unclear whether the expansion abroad will give the NFL permanent income. But the rules of the game lay the foundation for what could pay off in the long term.

“Our international goals are clear. We want to make our sport accessible to more fans around the world, build a permanent fan base through basic initiatives and pave their way to international players,” said Meier.

“Ultimately, it is our vision that the NFL is not only America’s most popular sport. But a global sports ownership for fans and athletes everywhere”.

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